Florida Solar Energy Center Study

[dan sw fl]

FL Power & Light is WORKING VERY HARD on Smart Grid and Demand Side Management.

+ their regular Residential rate at $0.099 / kWH is 'reasonable'.

[Florida Joy]

Dec 2010 FPL = 580 KWH
Dec 2011 FPL = 579 KWH
Dec 2012 FPL = 566 KWH

Month to month comparison won't mean much until April or May when cooling season really gets underway.

Daily high temps in Central Florida are now upper 70's to mid-80's and the threat of "cold snaps" ended on Easter Sunday! So... it's pretty much "cooling season" from now until mid-November! I thought I'd provide an update on historical energy usage at my house as of my April 10th FPL bill.

Bill Date Days kWH $Bill
11/10/2012 30 794 81.05 *3-Ton Greenspeed installed 11/08/2012
11/10/2011 29 811 84.22

10/11/2012 29 1531 161.92 *3.5-Ton Rheem condemned 10/18/2012
10/12/2011 29 1489 159.87

09/12/2012 30 1680 179.09
09/13/2011 34 2081 229.53

08/13/2012 32 2360 257.78 *3.5-Ton Rheem leak repaired 07/31/2012
08/10/2011 28 2064 227.74

07/12/2012 30 1868 200.87
07/13/2011 33 2203 244.11

06/12/2012 33 1741 186.81
06/10/2011 30 1749 190.64

05/10/2012 29 1138 116.80
05/11/2011 29 1438 153.71

04/10/2013 29 910 92.68 *3-Ton Greenspeed (See NOTE)
04/11/2012 30 1119 114.06
04/12/2011 33 870 89.77

03/12/2013 28 594 63.14 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
03/12/2012 31 637 66.21
03/10/2011 28 420 46.64 *Windows open for Spring, 3.5-Ton Rheem off!

02/12/2013 32 604 63.30 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
02/10/2012 29 551 58.15
02/10/2011 29 723 74.59

01/11/2013 31 598 62.79 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
01/12/2012 33 795 81.04
01/12/2011 33 1137 116.60

12/11/2012 31 566 59.64 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
12/10/2011 30 579 61.95
12/10/2010 31 580 61.04

NOTE: 03/30/13 - 04/10/13: Had six family members visiting for Easter and four stayed on to help with garage sale and landscaping the following week. Extra daily baths, showers, dishwasher runs and hair dryer usage, cooking three meals a day, washer/dryer ran almost non-stop. They had all my doors and windows opened with A/C “off” for 12 hours a day while working between outdoors, the garage, the laundry, the kitchen, and cleaning out “junk” in closets. Outdoor temperature and humidity rose into the 80’s, Greenspeed “recovered” about 8 to 10 degrees each evening for sleep time.

[jtrammel]

Thanks for the update joy, hope all is well. Anxious to see how the greenspeed fairs this summer compared to last summer. I know the comfort will be greatly improved but I want to see the real savings so a projected ROI can be computed. Keep us posted as there is nothing like real world evidence of significant monthly savings.

[energy_rater_La]

I'm looking forward to seeing summertime comparisms also.
hoping you save a good bit in summer & have the comfort of
low RH!

thanks for the update.

[dan sw fl]

I would expect kW used to be similar to shown in attached file _IF_ the 2013 weather is close to 2012.

One might notice that about 600 kW per month is not related to Cooling.

[Florida Joy]

FSEC has been monitoring my energy usage for the past 6 months. On Friday, May 17th, they spent the afternoon doing the "shallow retrofit" portion of the study. They replaced all my incandescent light bulbs with either CFL, LED, or CFL/Halogen hybrid bulbs. They wrapped my water heater, cleaned the coils on my fridge, and installed a "smart strip" for my entertainment center to eliminate the "phantom" energy draw from components when the TV is not in use. They offered to replace my 2.5 gpm shower heads with 2.0 gpm low flow shower heads, but I declined. With all the other savings, I don't feel bad about splurging a bit when I jump in the shower!

Here's an update through my last FPL billing as of May 13, 2013. The milder weather this year over last likely has had a positive impact on my energy usage, but I'm convinced the Greenspeed is the major factor contributing to lower bills.

Bill Date Days kWH $Bill
11/10/2012 30 794 81.05 *3-Ton Greenspeed installed 11/08/2012
11/10/2011 29 811 84.22

10/11/2012 29 1531 161.92 *3.5-Ton Rheem condemned 10/18/2012
10/12/2011 29 1489 159.87

09/12/2012 30 1680 179.09
09/13/2011 34 2081 229.53

08/13/2012 32 2360 257.78 *3.5-Ton Rheem leak repaired 07/31/2012
08/10/2011 28 2064 227.74

07/12/2012 30 1868 200.87
07/13/2011 33 2203 244.11

06/12/2012 33 1741 186.81
06/10/2011 30 1749 190.64

05/13/2013 33 928 94.54 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto cooling (no heat needed)
05/10/2012 29 1138 116.80
05/11/2011 29 1438 153.71

04/10/2013 29 910 92.68 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling (See NOTE)
04/11/2012 30 1119 114.06
04/12/2011 33 870 89.77

03/12/2013 28 594 63.14 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
03/12/2012 31 637 66.21
03/10/2011 28 420 46.64 *Windows open for Spring, 3.5-Ton Rheem turned off!

02/12/2013 32 604 63.30 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
02/10/2012 29 551 58.15
02/10/2011 29 723 74.59

01/11/2013 31 598 62.79 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
01/12/2012 33 795 81.04
01/12/2011 33 1137 116.60

12/11/2012 31 566 59.64 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto heating/cooling
12/10/2011 30 579 61.95
12/10/2010 31 580 61.04

NOTE: 03/30/13 - 04/10/13: Had six family members visiting for Easter and four stayed on to help with garage sale and landscaping the following week. Extra daily baths, showers, dishwasher runs and hair dryer usage, cooking three meals a day, washer/dryer ran almost non-stop. They had all my doors and windows opened with A/C “off” for 12 hours a day while working between outdoors, the garage, the laundry, the kitchen, and cleaning out “junk” in closets. Outdoor temperature and humidity rose into the 80’s, Greenspeed “recovered” about 8 to 10 degrees each evening for sleep time.

[energy_rater_La]

I thought there would be more savings. but hottest months are ahead of us.
05/13/2013 33 928 94.54 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto cooling (no heat needed)
05/10/2012 29 1138 116.80
05/11/2011 29 1438 153.71
May shows good savings, but I'm interested in june-sept savings
as ours is a cooling climate.

how is comfort Joy? RH%? do you find RH 50% say in april/may
or is it higher? if you are holding 50% RH, are you setting tstat temp higher?

I find at 50% RH in my house that setting tstat on 76 is great,
but when RH creeps up to 55%+ then tstat temp needs to be 72
for comfort.
still playing around with my whole house dehumidifier,
for the most part dehumidification comes from vs air handler.

thanks for sharing your info with us. I hope you'll continue
to do so through the summer into fall.

thanks!

[Florida Joy]

I thought there would be more savings. but hottest months are ahead of us.
05/13/2013 33 928 94.54 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto cooling (no heat needed)
05/10/2012 29 1138 116.80
05/11/2011 29 1438 153.71
May shows good savings, but I'm interested in june-sept savings
as ours is a cooling climate.

LOL! Me too! I'm really anxious to see how much I'll save this summer. If I could speed up time, I would!

how is comfort Joy? RH%? do you find RH 50% say in april/may
or is it higher? if you are holding 50% RH, are you setting tstat temp higher?

I find at 50% RH in my house that setting tstat on 76 is great,
but when RH creeps up to 55%+ then tstat temp needs to be 72
for comfort.
still playing around with my whole house dehumidifier,
for the most part dehumidification comes from vs air handler.

thanks for sharing your info with us. I hope you'll continue
to do so through the summer into fall.

thanks!

For April & May, I kept the daytime temp set at 75* with the %RH max set at 45%. With overcooling to dehumidify, my RH% has been 48-52%, except for the two weeks after Easter when my daughter and the "garage sale crew" kept all the windows and doors open until 8/9 o'clock at night and I had to turn the A/C off! The Greenspeed did recover quite well each evening, however, so that by 11 PM the temperature was right at 72 with about 50% RH.

[energy_rater_La]

don't rush summer...I'm enjoying these weeks prior to 90+ degree days later on!
I haven't got the soaker hoses set up for the vege garden yet!
today it is 98 degrees 68% RH outside
inside it is 76 degrees & 53% RH.
just vs ahu, no dehumidifier.

everyone notices the difference in the RH in
my house, even if they don't know beans about
% of RH.

[dan sw fl]

I thought there would be more savings. but hottest months are ahead of us.
05/13/2013 33 928 94.54 *3-Ton Greenspeed 24/7 auto cooling (no heat needed)
05/10/2012 29 1138 116.80
05/11/2011 29 1438 153.71

thanks for sharing your info with us. I hope you'll continue to do so through the summer into fall.

thanks!

I have Cooling Degree Days at
CDD 5/2013 311
___ 5/2012 274
___ 5/2011 343